Chapter 313

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Chapter 313: Thinking of the Child’s Name

Ever since Hokusinn Kichyō entered Kamitsumi Shrine, she has been trapped in this mountain for a whole month.

Luckily, it was her first time going out, so she had purposely bought equipment according to the standard for hikers and backpackers.

She packed some clean clothes, a simple sleeping bag, a compass, essential items for outdoor survival, and a few cans of canned food.

With these items and the mountain spring water, she struggled through thirty days in this place.

During the day, she had to find a way to go out, but as soon as daylight came, it started pouring rain without stopping.

When she reached halfway, she noticed that the flood had nearly submerged the mountainside. Looking around, she saw that the mountains were all surrounded by flowing water, with the swift currents wrapping around the peaks, revealing only half. It felt as if Yingzhou had already sunk halfway into the depths of the sea.

She didn’t know what had changed, nor did she feel any earth-shattering events. Even a typhoon couldn’t possibly last for a whole month, right?

At night, things were quite calm. However, she couldn’t go out because during the night, a large number of zombies would appear in the mountains.

She was trapped, forced to stay inside the old, rundown shrine. Even though the shrine wasn’t completely safe either, she had no choice but to draw her sword and deal with the zombies.

Compared to these dangers, what was even more painful and difficult was the loneliness and sadness.

Hokusinn Kichyō had seen some wilderness survival TV shows on television before. Many of the contestants dropped out not because of lack of food, but because they couldn’t bear the loneliness in their hearts. She thought it was too showy and fake. However, when it was her turn, the sense of loneliness was amplified to the extreme. It was a painful and lonely feeling, as if she had been cast away on a desolate island and there was a lump in her throat.

At first, there was mostly panic, but by the time the tenth day arrived, her heart had been consumed by loneliness for the most part.

Hokusinn Kichyō, feeling more and more frightened, discovered that she was starting to adapt to this kind of life. Thankfully, the dwindling cans and dry rations were indicating that time was running out.

She also gave up on the idea of living like a primitive person. She didn’t think about going to places with water to go fishing because living like that would be both lonely and boring.

When the twenty-eighth day arrived, she finished her last meal, devouring the rations that could barely sustain her for another week. With the thought that tonight would be the end, she ate her final bites.

Even if it means chopping at the undead until exhaustion leads to demise, one must still choose a death befitting of a warrior’s daughter.

The samurai family’s values always leaned towards embracing life and accepting death, and she was somewhat influenced by it.

So when Bai Wei burst in, her initial reaction wasn’t relief, but rather the sense of finally seeing an illusion.

The intense feeling of loneliness made her disbelief this was real. An overwhelming urge compelled her to speak out her inner thoughts.

Missing this opportunity might mean there won’t be another chance again.

She dropped the sword, then embraced him and confessed her feelings.

"I like you."

She was so nervous that she couldn’t utter the final syllable and ended up biting her tongue.

This was not at all a romantic scene suitable for confession.

Although for Hokusinn Kichyō, after thirty days of separation, the person who came to pick her up was Bai Wei. This was as beautiful as a fairytale story and deeply moved the young girl, whose heart had long been blooming with affection. Opening the door to her heart required no extra assistance at all.

But for Bai Wei, the woman who had just given him a sword suddenly came forward to confess her feelings. He could only wonder if this child had eaten some hallucinogenic mushrooms or spent too much time in the sun, as his mind was not quite clear at the moment.

Bai Wei was filled with confusion.

Hokusinn Kichyō let go of her hand and calmed down, "Alright, you can disappear now."

Bai Wei, "??"

She said quietly, "I have said everything I wanted to say. The illusions can go away now. I am going to be busy next."

Bai Wei chuckled.

He gave Hokusinn Kichyō a gentle tap on the forehead, then sighed with a warm voice, "Seems like you’re doing well here, huh? Why don’t you give your family a call and let them know you’re safe? Since you’re doing fine, I’ll take my leave then."

Hokusinn Kichyō felt a sudden pain on her forehead. Startled, she widened her eyes in surprise. As she watched Bai Wei turn around, she dashed towards him once again and embraced him tightly, putting all her strength into her arms. With a teary voice, she cried out, "Don’t go! Please don’t go!"

…

Twenty minutes later, both parties who had exchanged messages were lost in thought.

Bai Wei said, "So you’ve been trapped here for a whole month?"

Hokusinn Kichyō nodded and said, "I don’t know why I am trapped here either. I heard that this place is called Kamitsumi Shrine, so I followed the instructions and came here. But then, it stopped responding, and I have been stuck here ever since. Do you happen to know anything?"

Bai Wei shook his head, indicating that he had no knowledge of it.

"Oh, really? Well, this isn’t the first time either, so I’m not surprised. This place doesn’t seem like the original Kamitsumi Shrine, and by the time I realized it, I was already trapped," Hokusinn Kichyō said, hugging her knees. "It’s possible that we have once again been caught up in some strange time distortion."

"You didn’t die this time," Bai Wei chuckled. "Shouldn’t we give dying a try?"

"Hmph! Can you at least speak in a way that sounds a little more like human language? If you knew I had disappeared, you should have come to find me sooner," Hokusinn Kichyō complained, feigning annoyance. "Do you even care about my safety? Didn’t my father say that you didn’t even notice?"

"That’s for sure," Bai Wei replied. "I’m not constantly keeping an eye on you, am I? If I were, what would you do when you need to use the restroom?"

Hokusinn Kichyō swung her little fist and pouted, "At a time like this, you should be comforting me, right? I’ve been here for a whole month and I feel… scared."

"You have to bear the consequences when you choose to run away from home," Bai Wei lectured. "If you know what it feels like to suffer, then you should reflect on your actions instead of seeking comfort and asking for hugs."

"I didn’t run away from home!" she denied. "I left a letter behind."

Her intention was not to deny wanting comfort, hugs, and kisses held high.

"Bai Wei," he said, presenting the letter to her, "I have it with me. Would you like me to read it aloud for you?"

Hokusinn Kichyō snatched the letter in a hurry. Once she confirmed that it was the note she had written, she immediately tore it apart and threw it into the bonfire, burning it to ashes.

"Destroying the evidence, okay, now it’s as if my leaving home never happened."

Bai Wei commented, "It’s like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell."

Hokusinn Kichyō moved closer to him and called out, "Bai Wei…"

The people of the Ming Country said, "Where did Jingshen go? Call Mr. Bai."

"Do not, it’s better to use names. Can you call me Kichyō too?" The girl looked at him hopefully, "Is that not possible?"

"Not allowed."

"Too much! I just expressed my feelings."

"You should act a bit coy at this time, that’s more in line with common sense," Bai Wei exclaimed in astonishment. "How did you just admit it directly, and even think about going along with the flow?"

"Mr. Bai! I am a woman who dares to meet you while wearing a pure white dress," Hokusinn Kichyō regained her confidence in her tone, even becoming a bit overly confident. She pressed on with her question, "What do you think about it?"

"Do you like… me?"

"Um."

"I also like myself," Bai Wei smiled and avoided giving a direct response.

Hokusinn Kichyō repeated earnestly, "I really like you."

Bai Wei asked again, "Is your affection more important than Hokusinn’s future?"

The question was a deadlock, Hokusinn Kichyō remained silent for a long time. She furrowed her brows, looking sorrowful, which touched people’s hearts.

She whispered, "Is Yingzhou not good?"

Bai Wei said, "I am someone who enjoys traveling around. In the future, I may stay in the Ming Country or go to Europa. I might even visit the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. However, Yingzhou is not an option. This place doesn’t even qualify as my resting place."

He intentionally spoke with great emphasis, which reflected his true feelings. Yingzhou is a lovely place, but he didn’t actually like it.

Bai Wei looked at the gradually extinguishing flames and stood up, saying, "Let’s gather ourselves and find a way to leave."

Hokusinn Kichyō nodded in response, clearly unwilling to give up just yet. "Let’s leave it at that for now. Next time, we’ll talk about it again."

"Hasn’t it already ended?" Bai Wei puzzled.

"Of course not," Hokusinn Kichyō shook her head. "Do you dislike me?"

"How could he come to save such a mean person?"

"Since you don’t dislike me, the only thing standing between us is nothing but a small matter of our homeland," Hokusinn Kichyō said confidently. "Sooner or later, I will find a way to have the best of both worlds."

"At that time, I already had several wives, and children running around everywhere," Bai Wei hoped that she would give up some unrealistic ideas. In his eyes, Hokusinn Kichyō was still a young girl, not much older or more mature than his own younger sister.

Hokusinn Kichyō stood under the red moonlight, gazing at the crimson moon. Suddenly, she chuckled softly and said, "Mr. Bai, the more you try to discourage me, the more I sense your fear. My sister may be harsh with her words, but she’s still here. That alone surpasses many others. Mr. Bai, you always have a sharp tongue but a soft heart."

Bai Wei shook his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, can’t do. Being haughty is not a good trait for a man. If you keep saying that, I might actually leave you here."

Hokusinn Kichyō grabbed Bai Wei’s sleeve, raised her eyebrows with anger and said, "How dare you!"

Lost here, but where is here? This is Yingzhou.

Leave me behind in Yingzhou, and I will truly be angry. I will be very, very angry!

Bai Wei, no longer responding, in order to avoid endless conversation, took out Ema to open the way. But in the next moment, his expression froze – exclamation mark disappeared.

Don’t, without the exclamation mark, can we still go back now?

"What’s wrong?" Hokusinn Kichyō noticed.

"I have some good news and some bad news," Bai Wei spoke with a solemn tone.

"The news is bad," she said first.

"We may not be able to go back."

"What’s the good news?"

"There is only the two of us here."

"…"

"…"

"I can first think of a name for the child."